"New world" spirits distillery reveals first release

BySonya Hook

| 14 March, 2019

A new distillery has opened in Bristol which claims to specialise in “new world” spirits.

Circumstance Distillery has revealed its first release and the spirit, called Circumstantial Barley, is made from 100% malted British barley fermented for 13 days on a bed of French saison yeast and distillers yeast.

Co-founder, Danny Walker, said: “This first release is quite a milestone. We have thrown out the rule book and are focussing on flavour over tradition and experimenting with every step of the process to make a ‘new world’ style spirit.”

The result is described as “a vibrant spirit: malty with notes of green spice, stone fruit, citrus and umami”.

Head distiller, Mark Scott, said: “At Circumstance Distillery we are entirely flavour focussed, and ‘Circumstantial Barley’ is a perfect introduction to our ethos. It was distilled through a whisky hood and 4-plate column before ageing for six months on a combination of charred bespoke oak spindles and first-fill bourbon casks. The result is a beautiful raw spirit and our short ageing techniques allows the quality of the raw spirit to shine through.”

The team is now busy working on some “big ryes” and “unashamedly funky” white rum.

Co-founder, Liam Hirt, said: “We produce ‘new world’ styles of grain spirits and cane spirits. We are taking inspiration from early beer fermentation and traditional wine maturation right through to modern American craft distillation to create something completely unique.”

Circumstantial Barley will be bottled in 70cl bottles with an abv of 45% and it will retail at £44.